1953 Dragon Oil Pump

[xkssfrank]

I have taken my 1953 Dragon oil pump apart, the gasket between the bottom plate and the body of the pump seems to be made of lead or some other soft metal. Other pumps I have rebuilt have a paper gasket to set the end play of the rotors. Is paper OK on the Dragon pump or does it take a special gasket??

[retired wrench]

 
 I guess  no one wants to tackle this one . Most oil pumps have a very thin gasket or no gasket. What you describe I have no idea. The important thing is the end clearence on the gears must be right.

[joefrazer]

An issue with the oil pumps is their construction. The housing is cast iron while the bottom plate is a softer metal. After a while, the heat/cool cycle causes the bottom plate to warp and oil, under pressure, is forced out thru the opening, causing a drop in pressure.

The lead gasket was designed to absorb some of that distortion but who knew we'd still be driving these cars 60 years later. The solution is to ensure both surfaces are flat and that a gasket is in place. If you use paper, make sure it's of a material that can stand up to oil under pressure. The last thing you want is gasket material plugging an oil gallery.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

I take it that all of you have already checked the K-F 1951 Kaiser Parts Book and found that there are two different pumps used on 1951 and later Kaisers.  One is to be used only with steel camshafts, the other only with cast iron (there are different part numbers for each type on  page 18 of the book).  They have different drive shafts and gears.  This did not change in the 1952 or 1953 supplements so the 1951 info should carry through. 

[retired wrench]

   I  have taken warped items to machine shop and had them trued up on their surface grinder.  Dont do this with the pump body tho just the lid.